If- Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

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These 2 stanzas from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” show many themes and big ideas from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. One of the main themes that I gathered by just by looking at Atticus’ character was that you really need to be in someones shoes (or as he says it: “In his skin”) to understand fully their situation and their journey. In the second stanza it says: “And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken.” Although not directly about racism, this quote shows the results of the advice of understanding others given by Atticus to Scout and Jem. In the story, we see many insult and hurt Atticus for the truth he has spoken for Robinson during the court case. Both the poem and the book carry the points that: Sometimes, with speaking up for others comes conflict, but silence can be even more dangerous.

Chelsea Davis

English 10 Honours- block D